Police arrest Mirpur robbery suspect, two others still in hiding

A video clip shows three individuals on a motorcycle blocking a rickshaw and threatening the passengers with machete before robbing them

Police have arrested a man in a case over allegedly robbing a man and woman by threatening them with a machete at Mirpur’s Shewrapara.

The law enforcers are on the hunt for two other suspects involved in the incident as well.

Imran Khan Sakib, also known as Shakil, had been arrested in connection with the robbery from Gazipur’s Pubail Kudab Paschimpara around 6:15am on Friday, according to a statement from Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).

Police also found a machete, Tk 2,500 and a Hero Hunk motorcycle used for the mugging during their arrest.

“The 35-year-old Shakil is a robber by profession,” police said.

Police dug up multiple legal charges against him over robberies, theft and drugs across different police stations in Dhaka, including Mirpur Model Police Station.

The incident occurred in the alley beside East West School at Shewrapara around 4am on Thursday.

A man and a woman had come to Dhaka from Khagrachhari and were returning to their home in Manipur on a rickshaw when assailants on a motorcycle blocked their way and proceeded to whisk away Tk 2,500, a purse and a silver necklace after threatening them with a machete, according to the case dossier.

The man and the woman identified themselves as paternal cousins to the police.

CCTV footage of the incident then went viral on social media.

The clip showed the rickshaw passengers entering the alley when a motorcycle carrying three riders pulled up beside them. The driver had a helmet on, while the other riders did not.

The one on the rear of the motorcycle wore a white T-shirt and pulled out a machete, prompting the man on the rickshaw to get down. The motorcycle rider then approached the woman still in the rickshaw and threatened to swing the weapon at her before grabbing her purse.

The rider then took her necklace and grabbed another black bag from the rickshaw before the three drove away on the motorcycle.

Following the incident, Mirpur police chief Sazzad Roman told bdnews24.com that he had assured the victims to swiftly bring in those involved with the mugging.

The purse contained Tk 2,500, three credit cards, national ID cards, metrorail cards and some other important documents, according to DMP.